DNA samples from 24,000 totally innocent youngsters are being held by the police, The People can reveal.

Kids as young as 10 and up to 18 now have their profiles stored on the national DNA database.

Ministers defend the practice as necessary in the war against crime, saying 23 per cent of people arrested are under 18.

But none of the 24,000 has ever been cautioned, charged or convicted of any crime.

Now Tory MP Grant Shapps has launched a campaign to have the samples of anyone found to be innocent destroyed.

The Welwyn Hatfield MP began investigating after a constituent's son, wrongly arrested in a case of mistaken identity, had his DNA taken.

He protested to the local Chief Constable and the DNA was removed from the database.

Mr Shapps then discovered the 24,000 innocent kids among a total of 750,000 aged 18 and under whose samples are held.

He said: "It is hard to see why the details should be kept. They are innocent children. Police can take information without asking parents' permission."

He added that although Chief Constables have the discretion to remove names from the database, many are unaware of it.

By April 2008, seven per cent of the population will have their DNA details stored on police computers. Britain has the largest DNA database in the world. Last year three million people had their DNA collected.

The number of crimes solved by DNA matching has quadrupled in five years - 8,000 in the last two years alone. DNA can be taken from anyone arrested, regardless of whether they are charged. Altogether 139,463 people never charged are now on the database.

Mr Shapps said: "If the Government wants a DNA database of the entire population, pass it through Parliament. Don't bring it through the back door by stealth."

Andy Burnham, Home Office minister responsible for the database, said: "It is not a criminal record. There are safeguards in place as to how information can be used."

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CASE FOR IT SMASHES CRIME

Home Office Minister Andy Burnham

THE database provides police with 3,000 matches every month. These can help solve burglaries, sex assaults and murders while reducing the chance of miscarriages of justice. We also have strict rules on how the data is used. I'm sure people want the police to have access to the best tools.

CASE AGAINST A NEW BIG BROTHER

People Political Editor Nigel Nelson

DNA matching is not foolproof. People with no biological link can have similar DNA. Add to that human error in labs and innocent people could end up convicted. It's also a step closer to a Big Brother state. What if a dictator gained power and used the database as an instrument of repression? We must be on guard.